Coming Clean
by stugal21
Summary: A one chapter fic: After seeing Nick buried alive, Greg needs to come clean, but will someone else beat him to it? AN: Contains same sex paring.


Sitting in the torn up hospital chair, Greg tried to find a position that was somewhat comfortable. He glanced down at his watch again, reminded that only two minutes had gone by since the last time he checked. He bent over at the waist, setting his elbows on his tense legs and rubbed his hands over his tired eyes. He sighed heavily, looking over at the bed. Still no change. A nurse came in to check Nick's vitals and she noticed that the young man had not moved from his chair since the start of her shift.

"Sir?" she asked quietly, observing that the young man with the outrageous hair was seconds away from sleep. "Are you okay?"

"Hmmm?" Greg didn't even notice that someone had entered the room. "I'm fine, just a bit antsy, I guess." Truthfully, this was the first time he had spent any substantial amount of time in a hospital room since the lab explosion and it had him on edge. If it wasn't Nick in that hospital bed, he would have left hours ago. But he had to wait it out; he had to talk to Nick. After the events of last night transpired, the feeling in his heart was heavy. He needed to talk to Nick as soon as possible, because if he didn't, he was afraid he would wimp out.

"The drugs in his system are pretty strong. He won't be waking up for another hour or so." She walked over to the young man and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you go to the cafeteria and get yourself some coffee?" That one word sparked something within his brain and he realised he hadn't eaten or drank in over 24 hours. But he couldn't leave, not before Nick woke up.

"Sir, I'll come and find you if his status changes, okay?" She made it sound so tempting. He didn't want to leave, but his stomach was in strict disagreement.

"Alright. I'll be in the cafeteria. Please come and find me if anything changes." The nurse smiled kindly at him, thinking about what good friends her patient and this man must be. Greg picked up his jacket, which contained his wallet, and shuffled off to get some coffee.

Fifteen minutes and seven checks of his watch later Greg made his way back to Nick's hospital room. He placed his jacket on the back of his chair and resumed his previous position. He tilted his head and glanced over at Nick. Greg had been in the room for over four hours but he hadn't really looked at him. He pulled his chair a bit closer to examine him more clearly. There were hundreds of ant bites all over his body. Greg had only seen bites this bad in Grissom's entomology textbooks. He squinted his eyes and found that Nick also had a massive bump on the right of his forehead that was turning a bright purplish colour. He figured Nick must've got it when he banged his head on the top of the box.

As Greg was looking at the scratches on Nick's hands, he noticed that Nick's index finger on his left hand started to twitch. Greg set up expectantly in his chair, hoping for another sign that Nick was finally coming to. He was rewarded with a low groan as Nick attempted to shift his weight on the small hospital bed. Nick squeezed his eyes shut, opened them up, and was surprised to see a baggy-eyed Greg looking at him.

"Hey G," Nick's voice was low and husky, dry from dehydration. "What time is it?"

"It's almost six." Greg replied, his heart started to beat faster, knowing what was coming. "I uh, I'd ask you how you were feeling, but I think I have a good idea about that." Greg smiled at him sheepishly. Despite the pain coursing through Nick's entire body and what he had endured, Nick let out an unsteady laugh. 

"How, uh, how long have you been here?" Nick asked. 'Ok', Greg thought, 'easy questions. This I can handle'.

"Since Warrick and Catherine left. About five hours." Greg started to rub his hands on his jeans, sweat forming on his palms.

"Why are you still here?" Nick attempted to sit up a bit to get a better look at the younger man.

"Warrick and Cath had some things they had to take care of at the lab, and I volunteered to stay here." Greg looked at Nick's face, so glad to see him up close and not through a computer screen.

A loud silence slid into the room. Greg had everything planned out, but now he couldn't even think straight. Nick noticed that Greg had started to play with the loose fabric on his chair and was no longer looking him in the eye.

"Greg…" Nick knew he had heard him call his name, but he still got no response. He waited, hoping Greg would eventually come out of his haze.

"I was scared Nicky." Greg looked up at him, his voice shaky. "Seeing you like that, I just…" he had to stop, fear of crying was catching up with him.

Nick's arm hurt like hell, but he found the strength to move a hand on Greg's forearm.

"Hey Greggo… it's ok. I was scared too, I'm not too proud to admit it. Hell, you all saw me lose it. I couldn't handle it, I don't expect any of you to either." He explained, referring to the rest of the CSIs.

"Nick…I…" Greg couldn't say it. Fear welled up in him, consuming him whole. Nick slid his hand a couple inches until it was placed on top of Greg's.

"I know." Nick whispered, tapping his pointer finger lightly on Greg's palm. Greg stared blankly at him, this what not what he was expecting. 'It must be the drugs' Greg thought, 'he's so drugged up, he doesn't even know what he's saying.'

Nick didn't want to push it, but after spending time buried underground, he couldn't think of a better time to come clean.

"I know." Nick repeated, attempting to make himself clear. "While I was down there, I recorded messages for you guys." He looked down at Greg and realised he now had his full attention. "I recorded something for Mom and Dad…Grissom…" he trailed off for a moment. He needed to gather his words as well as his courage. "I had time to think…of what I want in life, what I haven't had a chance to do yet. I was going to leave a message for you, but…I just couldn't say it on a recorded tape. That was when I knew I had to get out of there. I had to get out so I could tell you…"

"How did you know?" Greg heard himself speak before he knew what he was doing.

"I 'spose I've always known. I've just been too scared to admit it. I didn't know how to deal." Nick clamped his hand over Greg's wrist, squeezing it freely. Greg couldn't help himself as he let out a soft chuckle. Nick looked at him with confusion, wondering what caused the outburst.

"I uh, I had this speech planned…I wanted to lay everything out on the table. But ah, as usual" Greg rubbed the nape of his stiff neck with his free hand "you get to the punch line first." Greg smiled up at Nick, relieved to finally tell his co-worker and friend how he felt. Nick smiled back and intertwined his fingers with Greg's.

"Now what?" Greg asked, unsure of what was to come, but ready for wherever it was headed.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to sleep." Nick barely got the words out as a yawn overtook him. Greg squeezed Nick's hand, surprised at how much bigger it looked in his.

"Hey Nicky?" Greg placed his other hand on Nick's knee as he looked back at Greg, a crooked smile on his face. "I'm really glad you're ok."

"Me too." Nick brought their intertwined hands up to his chest and turned his head on the pillow. As Nick started to drift off, Greg moved out of his chair and placed a rushed peck on Nick's cheek.

"Night Nick." He whispered, bringing their hands to his lips and placing a kiss on Nick's knuckles. "Sweet dreams."


End file.
